Clinical characteristics and predisposing factors of lung metastasis in sacral chordoma: a cross-sectional cohort study of 221 cases

IntroductionLimited studies are available on the topic of lung metastasis in sacral chordoma. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence, characteristics, associated factors, and prognosis of lung metastasis in sacral chordoma.MethodsA total of 221 cases with primary sacral chordoma, all of whom underwent surgical resection at our center, were included in this study. Comprehensive demographic information, imaging findings, and oncological evaluations were collected and thoroughly analyzed. The diagnosis of lung metastasis in the majority of cases was established through radiographic examinations.ResultsThe prevalence of lung metastasis in the cohort was 19.5%, with the lung emerging as the predominant site of distant metastasis. Recurrent chordoma cases exhibited a significantly higher lung metastasis rate in comparison to newly diagnosed chordoma cases (33.33% and 12.76%, p=0.0005). Patients with lung metastasis had a larger tumor size, a higher proportion of previous sacral chordoma surgeries and a greater likelihood of postoperative recurrence. Associated factors of lung metastasis were tumor size, postoperative recurrence and radiotherapy. Patients with lung metastasis exhibited decreased median overall survival (91 vs. 144 months for those without lung metastasis, p<0.05) and recurrence-free survival (27 vs. 68 months, p<0.001) times.DiscussionLung is the most common site of distant metastasis in sacral chordoma with an incidence rate nearly 20%. Larger tumor size and postoperative recurrence are risk factors for lung metastasis while radiotherapy is a protective factor. Occurrence of lung metastasis in sacral chordoma is a negative prognostic factor

Vitreous Olink proteomics reveals inflammatory biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis of traumatic proliferative vitreoretinopathy

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to identify inflammatory biomarkers in traumatic proliferative vitreoretinopathy (TPVR) patients and further validate the expression curve of particular biomarkers in the rabbit TPVR model.MethodsThe Olink Inflammation Panel was used to compare the differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) in the vitreous of TPVR patients 7–14 days after open globe injury (OGI) (N = 19) and macular hole patients (N = 22), followed by correlation analysis between DEPs and clinical signs, protein–protein interaction (PPI) analysis, area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) analysis, and function enrichment analysis. A TPVR rabbit model was established and expression levels of candidate interleukin family members (IL-6, IL-7, and IL-33) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) at 0, 1, 3, 7, 10, 14, and 28 days after OGI.ResultsForty-eight DEPs were detected between the two groups. Correlation analysis showed that CXCL5, EN-RAGE, IL-7, ADA, CD5, CCL25, CASP8, TWEAK, and IL-33 were significantly correlated with clinical signs including ocular wound characteristics, PVR scoring, PVR recurrence, and final visual acuity (R = 0.467–0.699, p < 0.05), and all with optimal AUC values (0.7344–1). Correlations between DEP analysis and PPI analysis further verified that IL-6, IL-7, IL-8, IL-33, HGF, and CXCL5 were highly interactive (combined score: 0.669–0.983). These DEPs were enriched in novel pathways such as cancer signaling pathway (N = 14, p < 0.000). Vitreous levels of IL-6, IL-7, and IL-33 in the rabbit TPVR model displayed consistency with the trend in Olink data, all exhibiting marked differential expression 1 day following the OGI.ConclusionIL-7, IL-33, EN-RAGE, TWEAK, CXCL5, and CD5 may be potential biomarkers for TPVR pathogenesis and prognosis, and early post-injury may be an ideal time for TPVR intervention targeting interleukin family biomarkers

Integrated Design for High Performance Buildings

This report summarizes the technical tasks and key findings of the integrated design for high performance buildings, a project funded under the U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center for Building Energy Efficiency. Main outcomes include: (1) Integrated design, operations and occupant behavior during the building life cycle is the key to high performance and low energy buildings. Technologies alone do not guarantee low energy buildings. Best practice of operations and energy friendly occupant behavior play a significant role in energy performance of buildings. The integrated design workshop and case studies directly support the design and operations of five demonstration buildings in China. (2) The simulation framework improves the way we evaluate technologies andbuilding performance by considering various uncertainties and investment risks. Itcan be adopted in the building code and standards development, code compliancecalculations, and performance ratings. It provides a clear pathway to understandand assess the gap between expected performance during design and actualperformance during operations. (3) Data and information exchange across various disciplines of building design and operations are crucial to improve knowledge sharing and timely decision making. The preliminary research of the information exchange feeds into the development of results schema of EnergyPlus

Comparative analysis of residential building decarbonization policies in major economies : insights from the EU, China, and India

The global building sector, responsible for over 30% of CO2 emissions, necessitates urgent decarbonization efforts. This paper examines residential building decarbonization policies in three major economies - the European Union (EU), China, and India. It provides an overview of diverse policies through policy landscape analysis and delves into the design specifics with a detailed policy intensity analysis of building energy codes, information disclosure, and financial incentives in each region. Our findings reveal a diverse mix of policies targeting residential building decarbonization in all three regions. While the EU and China have long-established diverse policy instruments, India's building energy efficiency policies are relatively recent and limited. Detailed analyses of building energy codes, information disclosure, and financial incentives expose variations in ambition, scope, and implementation, even with shared policy instruments. Significant advancements in building energy codes, particularly in stringency and compliance checks, are evident in the EU and China. Conversely, India faces a notable obstacle with limited adoption of residential building energy codes, impacting its journey towards net-zero. The EU leads in building energy labelling policies, while China and India encounter various challenges hindering widespread implementation. Financial incentives across the three regions predominantly take the form of subsidies, potentially straining public budgets. The study concludes with reflections on the pressing need for future research extending beyond the operational phase of buildings

Artesunate alleviates 5-fluorouracil-induced intestinal damage by suppressing cellular senescence and enhances its antitumor activity

Abstract Background Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most prevalent diagnosed malignancies and one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide. 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) and its combination regimen are commonly used as primary chemotherapeutic agents for advanced CRC. Intestinal mucositis is one of the most frequent side effects of 5-FU. Artesunate (Arte) is derived from the wormwood plant Artemisia annua. Arte is not only effective against malaria but also diabetes, atherosclerosis, inflammation, and other conditions. The mechanism by which 5-FU damages the intestinal tract is unclear, and there is no standard treatment for diarrhea caused by 5-FU. Therefore, it is critical to discover novel and promising therapeutic drugs for 5-FU side effect treatment. Methods The morphology and expression of genes and proteins associated with the aging of HUVECs, HIECs, and intestinal tissues were compared to the those of the control group. The cell lines and tissues were evaluated by SA-β-Gal staining, Western blotting, and RT‒qPCR. HIEC and HCT116 cell viability was assessed in vitro by a CCK-8 assay and in vivo by a subcutaneous tumor mouse assay. Tumor cell proliferation and apoptosis was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. Results Here, we report that Arte alleviates the adverse side effects caused by 5-FU in intestinal tissue, and that 5-FU-induced intestinal damage is associated with drug-induced chemical inflammation and an increase in the proportion of senescent cells. Arte decreases the ratio of SA-β-Gal-positive cells and downregulated the expression of aging-related proteins (p53, p16) and aging-related genes (p53, p21). Mechanistically, Arte relieves intestinal injury by inhibiting mTOR expression, which is associated with the regulation of aging. Moreover, Arte suppresses the p38MAPK and NF-κB signaling pathways, which are related to inflammation regulation. In addition, the combined therapy of Arte plus 5-FU significantly decreases cancer cell viability in vitro. Arte and 5-FU synergistically reduce the growth of colorectal cancer (CRC) xenografts in vivo. Conclusions Overall, our findings point to the crucial treatment effect of Arte on inflammation, intestinal cell senescence, and CRC cell proliferation and offer a new option for CRC treatment

Hydrogen Peroxide Promotes Tomato Leaf Senescence by Regulating Antioxidant System and Hydrogen Sulfide Metabolism

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is relatively stable among ROS (reactive oxygen species) and could act as a signal in plant cells. In the present work, detached tomato leaves were treated with exogenous H2O2 at 10 mmol/L for 8 h to study the mechanism of how H2O2 regulates leaf senescence. The data indicated that H2O2 treatment significantly accelerated the degradation of chlorophyll and led to the upregulation of the expression of leaf senescence-related genes (NYC1, PAO, PPH, SGR1, SAG12 and SAG15) during leaf senescence. H2O2 treatment also induced the accumulation of H2O2 and malondialdehyde (MDA), decreased POD and SOD enzyme activities and inhibited H2S production by reducing the expression of LCD1/2 and DCD1/2. A correlation analysis indicated that H2O2 was significantly and negatively correlated with chlorophyll, the expression of leaf senescence−related genes, and LCD1/2 and DCD1/2. The principal component analysis (PCA) results show that H2S showed the highest load value followed by O2•−, H2O2, DCD1, SAG15, etc. Therefore, these findings provide a basis for studying the role of H2O2 in regulating detached tomato leaf senescence and demonstrated that H2O2 plays a positive role in the senescence of detached leaves by repressing antioxidant enzymes and H2S production

Photocatalytic oxygen evolution and antibacterial biomimetic repair membrane for diabetes wound repair via HIF1-α pathway

Diabetic wounds always have puzzled patients and caused serious social problems. Due to the lack of local blood vessels, severe hypoxia is generated in the defect area, which is an essential reason for the difficulty of wound healing. We have constructed a photocatalytic oxygen evolution and antibacterial biomimetic repair membrane to solve the problems of wound repair. A scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope characterized the biomimetic repair membrane. The oxygen evolution of the biomimetic membrane was tested by an oxygen meter. The excellent antibacterial performance of the biomimetic repair membrane was also verified by co-culture with Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. It was confirmed that the expression of collagen and HIF1-α in fibroblasts was significantly increased in vitro. And the mitochondrial activity of the vascular and nerve was increased considerably. In vivo, the healing time of diabetes wounds treated with the biomimetic repair membrane was significantly reduced, the collagen and the number of pores were increased considerably, and vascular regeneration was enhanced. The biomimetic repair membrane has an excellent performance in photocatalytic oxygen evolution and antibacterial and can significantly promote the repair of diabetes wounds. This will provide a promising treatment for diabetes wound repair